Winners of the 26th Lambda Literary Awards

On the big screen is honoree Alison Bechdel, author of the wildly popular cartoon series Dykes to Watch Out For and the graphic novel Fun Home, shared memories about the first time she won a Lammy Award in 1991 when she knew no one and felt very awkward.

Photo credit: Sheela Lambert

The winners of the 26th Annual Lambda Literary Awards (the "Lammys") were announced last night in a gala ceremony hosted by comedienne Kate Clinton at The Great Hall at Cooper Union. It occurred on the heels of BookExpo America, the book publishing industry's largest annual gathering of booksellers, publishers, authors, and readers. Also preceding it was the Bisexual Book Awards organized by the Bi Writers Association and inspired by the Lammys. The Lambda ceremony brought together over 500 attendees, sponsors, and celebrities to celebrate excellence in LGBT literature and 26 years of the groundbreaking literary awards. Obie Award-winning performance artist and past Lambda Award winner Justin Vivian Bond graced the ceremony with a special "half-time" performance. The celebration continued at the VIP After-Party hosted by Scholastic at the Scholastic Greenhouse & Terrace with DJ Sean McMahill.

The ceremony opened with a powerful montage of video clips from the "What LGBTQI Book Changed Your Life" campaign, a project conducted in conjunction with the Lammys to recognize LGBT literature of all types, from poetry to erotica, that has influenced millions of readers. As master of ceremonies for the third consecutive year, Clinton treated the audience to her signature brand of topical, political comedy. She kept the audience laughing with lines like "Happy Pride Month, the month formerly known as June," and "I'm happy about the new pope. He's our first Christian one."

Cartoonist Justin Hall, award-winning creator of the series True Travel Tales in presenting the Board of Trustees Award for Excellence in Literature to Alison Bechdel said that her body of work from her comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For to graphic memoirs Fun Home and Are You My Mother? solidify her unique place in the comic book cannon. Bechdel gave a funny and moving acceptance speech filled with memories from when she won her first Lammy in 1991.

Appropriately, Bechdel presented the first award for the new category of best LGBT Graphic Novel to Calling Dr. Laura: A Graphic Memoir by Nicole J. Georges.

Kate Bornstein was presented the Pioneer Award by her life partner, Barbara Carrellas who said that when people are asked what Kate Bornstein means to them, "the overwhelming answer is 'Kate Bornstein saved my life.'" Bornstein's call to action to stop the history of shaming with regard to sex and gender brought the audience to a standing ovation.

Michael Thomas Ford and Radclyffe were awarded with the Dr. James Duggins Outstanding Mid-Career Novelist Prize and Imogen Binnie and Charles Rice-Gonzalez were presented with the Dr. Betty Berzon Emerging Writer Award.

Justin Vivian Bond provided the "half-time" entertainment with three songs from ve's recent show, "The Drift," all of which were inspired by classic literature.

"Throughout the beautiful ceremony, we were reminded of the meaningfulness of LGBT literature and writers in our lives," said Tony Valenzuela, Lambda Literary Foundation Executive Director. "Congratulations to all the winners and honorees."

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Sheela Lambert is director of the Bi Writers Association, the Bisexual Book Awards and Bi Lines reading series. She has published in LGBTQ America Today Encyclopedia, Huffington Post, Advocate.com, Curve Magazine, Gay & Lesbian Review, Lambda Literary Review, Journal of Bisexuality, AfterEllen, and is a veteran bi & LGBT activist, educator and event organizer who resides in New York City. Best Bi Short Stories, her anthology of bisexual short fiction in multiple genres, is due out spring 2014.